


You got away (Something brought you back)

by risingEmbers



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Carrying people is a love language, El getting introspective at every oppotunity, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kisses, Romance, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27101863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/risingEmbers/pseuds/risingEmbers
Summary: A series of moments across the development of their relationship, where two women find brief moments in the midst of chaos.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 4
Kudos: 83





	You got away (Something brought you back)

**Author's Note:**

> So I played this game over lockdown and have fallen so deep into Edeleth hell I can never get out- these two are just (chef's kiss) and I felt I had to write something about them.
> 
> (Title taken from Risk by Metric. It's a good song, would recommend)

The imperial camp was cold. It was the middle of the Lone Moon, and a thin layer of frost seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. A chill swept through the air, and the soldier standing guard outside the emperor's tent suppressed a shiver. The soldier was just relieved that, all being well, this would be the last night he'd be here. Tomorrow would be the Battle of Garreg Mach, and he would either be sleeping in a real bedroom inside the monastery, or be sleeping in the ground. 

It was late at night, and the emperor was still working, judging by the golden glow of candlelight spilling out behind the entrance. Still planning, still making sure everything went as smoothly as possible, the same as every night for the past couple of weeks. Before he could ruminate on whether this was concerning, a familiar green blur, almost as much of a hurricane as a woman, ran up to him at a ridiculous speed.

"Professor Eisner." He nodded in acknowledgement before opening the tent to let her in. She had been given blanket permission to enter the emperors tent whenever she deemed fit, often armed with teacups and board games. It was the same allowance given to the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force (a name that some soldiers snickered when no commanders were present), yet it was clear to most of the camp that there seemed to be a special bond between the two, the specific nature of their relationship was one of the hottest points of discussion among Imperial soldiers at the camp. He closed the tent with a smug smile. 

Edelgard looked up excitedly at the familiar footsteps. 

"Edelgard I've finished checking up on the students, they should all be ready for the battle tomorrow," before she could thank her for her work the older woman continued, "except one, that is." Byleth gave a small smile, a rare treat that seemed to be growing more common by the day, yet they never seemed to lose their novelty. Edelgard felt she could get lost in the way her eyes crinkled at the edges, the way those green eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. 

"I told you, you need not worry yourself about me, I need no encouragement."

"I'm not offering encouragement." 

Edelgard knew she's not here to proclaim her undying love for her or any such maudlin display, and thankfully her cheeks resisted the urge to grow warm. This wouldn't do for the Adrestrian Emperor to be so easily driven into flights of fancy. "Oh? What are you here for then?"

The professor sits on Edelgard's bed, "To ease your mind, if you have any concerns I can lend you my ear." The two have talked before under the glow of candles, the professor always seems to know when nightmares crawl their way into the dark recesses of her mind, seemingly have a sixth sense for them, another one of her strange gifts. That wasn't what was holding her back. She had bared more of her soul to her than she ever thought she could to anyone, at least someone who wasn't Hubert, and especially since revealing her identity as the Flame Emperor, she had brought her into the fold of the few who knew her true plans. It wasn't the intimacy then, or the honesty, that made her hesitate, it was something else. 

When she was with her, she wasn't the duplicitous, treacherous Flame Emperor, or the fierce, powerful ruler of Adrestia, or even the prodigious student and 'mothering hen' Edelgard von Hresvelg. She could feel instead the last vestiges of El, the vulnerable girl, return to the forefront of her identity.

Could El win a war? Could El reshape a continent? Could El kill a prophet?

This was dangerous, and she couldn't bring herself to mind. She joined Byleth on the bed.

"I don't have any regrets, if that is what you're asking. I've made my peace with my actions long ago."

"But something's still bothering you." Byleth says this as less of a question and more like a fact, as if those green eyes could see into her soul. Perhaps they could, stranger things had happened this year. 

"How can you tell?"

"When you're thinking hard about something, you get this little crease," she lifts a finger and brings it to the space between Edelgard's eyes, "right here." Goddess, she was hopeless, even the slightest touch made her feel like one of Dorothea's Thorons was coursing through her.

There was a lot of things she wanted to say, and maybe one day she would, but she decided on one thing. _To hell with it_. 

"At the ball, you seemed so... carefree, as if being dragged onto the dancefloor by half the monastery was nothing more than a usual night for you. You were talking with noble and commoner alike, yet even on that night as I tried to relax and have fun all I could think about was my plans. I just want to have one night for myself, one day."

"In which case," Byleth stood up, extending a hand to her, and all Edelgard could do was gawk. 

"May I have this dance?"

When they had met at the Goddess Tower, and rather than a hundred knights and priests and students their only company was the distant music and the old stone walls, Edelgard wanted to ask her to dance then and there, but she could never bring herself to say it; back then if she was too attached going through with her plan would hurt all the more. 

She reached for her hand. 

There was no music, so she hummed a simple waltz rhythm. Byleth's steps seemed a little clumsy, _odd, considering her graceful footwork when sparring,_ but somehow that made her feel more real, as though just with a dance she could take someone touched by the goddess down to the imperfect world of mortals. 

"My teacher-"

"Just Byleth is fine. I'm not really your teacher anymore."

"But you still teach me so much, and I'd like for you to continue teaching me even after the war." Byleth's eyes widened and the smile returned to her face, and almost imperceptibly her grip on Edelgard's hand tightened. 

"I'd like that." 

The two remained in their dance for a little longer, as if they were the only two beings in the universe. For that moment, there was no war, no church or empire or shadowy background forces plotting in secret, they were just two women locked in a dance. The moon continued to hang high, and the distant sound of an owl reminded them of the hour. Lit by the dying candles, Byleth looked almost ethereal, the Emperor could lose herself in the way the light danced across her eyes, the way the slightest twitch of her mouth contained more warmth than any flame, if it wasn't an... unsound tactical maneuver she could kiss her now. 

Edelgard thought back to a lesson months ago, sometime before the mission to fight Miklan Gautier in Connand Tower. 

"Remember class, you need to be able to act purely on intuition, if you get caught up on analysis and overthinking you'll miss the opportunity to strike."

Edelgard steeled herself, and took the opportunity to strike, pressing her lips against the professor's cheek. She giggled (when was the last time she giggled like a schoolgirl?) at the sight of slightly parted lips and a dusting of red across the normally stoic woman's face. _So she can blush? I'll have to keep that in mind_. 

"You should rest, My- Byleth, it will be a hard battle tomorrow" Edelgard never wanted this night to end, but with this one last piece of divinity at her side she was certain they could make it to see many nights thereafter. 

They would have much to talk about after the battle, she was certain of it. Her feelings could wait just one more day.

\---

Fhirdiad has hot. The flames licked the edges of Edelgard's armour and if it wasn't for the strength her two crests gave her she would have long since fallen to exhaustion. Dodging collapsing buildings and dueling Sir Gilbert, facing off against a swarm of Pegasus Knights, and taking an arrow in her shoulder from Cyril left her muscles aching and weary. Still, it was no time to even think about resting, in front of her was the final milestone in her goal of unification. The Immaculate One, her glistening white scales caked in soot, claws and horns scratched, giving the impression of rust building up on her ancient form. Fitting, Seiros' body reflecting the state of the rotting system she upheld. 

Gilbert was dead, his blood splattered on Aymr's skeletal blade, Shamir had defeated Catherine not long before, although Edelgard did not miss how the arrow only struck her in the leg, and the two disappeared from the battlefield shortly after. All that was left was this final strike while the rest of the Black Eagles cleared up the battlefield and helped with the evacuation efforts. 

To her side was Byleth, the scion of the goddess herself, the incredible woman who had taken her side no matter what, stood by her, the Sword of the Creator glowing in her hand, outshining even the brightest of flames. Even smeared with ash and blood, she stood tall and proud, her jaw set and eyes sparkling with determination. This was both a woman who could cleave armies in twain one moment and who could offer comfort and warm arms the next.

Edelgard had never held that conversation she planned before the invasion of Garreg Mach, after the battle she had slept for five years, and upon her arrival there was so much to do, battles to plan, treaties to negotiate, that she was never able to speak her mind. She was absolutely certain, despite all of that, that she was deeply, irrevocably in love with the woman on her right. 

Byleth nodded, not saying a word. Edelgard gripped her axe tighter, took a smoke filled breath, and leapt into the air. She didn't need to look to know that her teacher had jumped at the same time. Aymr above her head, she slashed down, and the attack struck true. The axe buried itself into Seiros' head, as did the Sword of the Creator. The Immaculate One let out one final roar before dropping to the ground, writhing on the stone for a moment before stalling, finally dead.

The Emperor dropped to the ground, panting. This was it, the war was over and Fodlan could finally be freed from its oppression, and this cycle of bloodshed could finally be drawn to a close. 

A thud next to her shattered this illusion.

She dropped Aymr to the ground and cradled Byleth's body in her arms. Of course, there always had to be a cost, a cruel twist played on her by the hands of fate. This couldn't happen, not again, tears already starting to poke at the edges of her eyes. She pressed her ear to her chest, only to be greeted by silence. No, she couldn't lose her again, not after reuniting. Not after losing her parents, her brothers and sisters and friends. She was never skilled with white magic, but perhaps...

Her fingers twitched, but no magic poured through. Once again she was unable to save someone she loved, forced to watch as their life slowly drained out of her. Desperately, she tried to cling on to whatever last vestiges of control she could, She needed Linhardt, or Mercedes, or Lysithea, Dorothea perhaps, she choked out a sob and called their names, but they were too far to get to her in time. Another cost to her actions, another life she had extinguished in pursuit of her ideals. 

It would be worth it, she told herself. She would rid the world of the church, crests and Those Who Slither. Her teacher would be one of the many who had given their lives to her cause, She would be buried with the highest honours, and be venerated in every way she could. The Emperor and the rest of the Black Eagles would move on with their lives and face the challenges ahead. 

Just for this moment, however, she could cry.

She failed to hold back her tears before Byleth stirred below. 

Of course, she had already returned to her twice, why not a third? A weak thump against her ear, and the tears continued, albeit of a different nature. She lifted her head, a grin spreading across her face, as she gazed into brilliant blue. 

_It seems humanity truly does have no need for gods..._

A calloused hand slowly reached up and cupped her face, and for a moment the two simply looked at each other, as if for the first time. Everything was stripped back, laid bare, and the world faded out, as if they were the only two people that existed in the world. 

Edelgard was shocked out of her reverie by Byleth lightly pressing their lips together, lighter than a feather, but enough that she knew it wasn't a dream. 

"I'm sorry, I just woke up and suddenly my chest and my head started feeling really weird, then I saw you and I felt... drawn to you, somehow. I probably overstepped and I," she trailed off, eyes crossing to see an ocean coloured strand hanging across her face, "why is my hair blue again?" 

Edelgard failed to suppress a chuckle, "It's quite alright, Byleth. In fact I wouldn't be opposed to doing it again some time." Edelgard held her a little more tightly as she kissed her again. Kissing her felt like coming home, as if they were made for each other, and given that they both possessed the Crest of Flames perhaps they were.

A throat cleared behind them both.

"As much as I hate to interrupt... whatever this is... we should probably take you both to the healers just to check you're okay after all of that." Edelgard made a mental note to ask Hubert whether he could have Linhardt assassinated later, but as much as she wanted to stay like this forever, she conceded that Byleth at least needed to be given a look over, picking her up and carrying her out of the city with the last of her might. 

She tried to ignore Dorothea in the distance shouting "Fucking _finally!_ "

\---  
Edelgard kept touching the ring on her finger. She didn't know what to expect when Byleth asked her to the Goddess Tower two weeks after Fhirdiad. They had seen regrettably little of each other since the end of the fight, while the emperor was not naive enough to believe killing the archbishop would be enough to topple a millennia old institution, she didn't believe it would take this much paperwork just to pacify the remaining nobles and bishops, if she went to one more meeting with Count Galatea over farming subsidies she would scream.

On the rare occasions that she had time to herself, she would invite her... teacher? Perhaps, but Byleth was clearly more than that now, girlfriend? Too trite, lover? Still didn't seem to fit. Either way, she would invite Byleth to tea, just like old times, except now the two would occasionally steal a kiss when they were certain nobody else was looking- can't have anyone gossiping quite yet. Edelgard was certain she would never forget what she was told during the first of their tea dates after the war.

("Yes, it's normal for your pulse to quicken like that, did it not before?

"I didn't even have a pulse before."

"You... what?"

"I didn't even have emotions before meeting you and the rest of the students, not until The Beginning anyway"

"The beginning of what?"

"Oh, that's right, I never told you...")

The emperor knew that this was in the cards, generally when one is in a relationship of this sort it is one of the potential outcomes, and yet somehow the ring on her finger didn't feel quite real, as though any moment now she would wake up and her head would be on her desk, with battle strategies and troop placements littered by her head, quill still clutched in a sleeping hand. She had already resigned herself to either dying on the battlefield or a loveless political marriage, the object of many a daydream after class now returning her feelings was yet another shocking swerve in the younger woman's life.

Before the date of the Millennium Festival, she was convinced that she would either die alone or live alone, just another step in liberating Fodlan from its ancient shackles.

Of course she couldn't let go of her teacher away that easily. 

All that was convincing Edelgard that this was real was the arm around her back, the shoulder beneath her head and the fingers interlocked with her own. When she stood by the railing, with the sun setting above the mountains painting the sky in blues and reds, she felt warm, content in ways that she hasn't since before her time underground all those years ago. It was more than contentedness, she felt infinite, as if she could soar away. 

"El," even hearing that name in Byleth's voice was enough to make Edelgard's heart flutter, and to see that pair of familiar blue eyes gaze at her with such adoration, with more emotion than she had ever seen in them, left Edelgard speechless. The professor's calloused fingertips brushed against bare, ungloved skin, "we should head back, the others might get worried."

Caspar had insisted on throwing yet another victory feast that night, and it was then that the two had decided to sneak out for their rendezvous at the tower. The two were planning on keeping their relationship on a need-to-know basis for the time being, at least until Edelgard's rule over Fodlan could be considered secure. The Black Eagles knew, and Dorothea might have told regardless, but there were far more than just the Strike Force at the feast that evening. Agarthan agents could be anywhere, after all, and once her silent crusade began she was certain they would stop at nothing for some leverage against her.

"How do you think we should go about this, should we each head through a different door? Perhaps one of us waits for five minutes before leaving, just to not arouse suspicion-" Any further thoughts were immediately squashed by a pair of strong arms encircling her and lifting her up, bridal-style, while the Emperor let out an undignified squeak, wrapping her arms around Byleth's neck. 

"Let them talk" She whispered with a mischievous smile. Ever since the final battle, Byleth was gaining a wider repertoire of expressions to paint on her previously stoic face, and each smile felt like a gift to her fiancee. 

The setting sun glinted across the ring, and Edelgard gave it another look. If she was being honest with herself, she wanted nothing more than to stay here with Byleth for just a little while longer, then share her joy with the rest of her family. She has been bold for her entire life, she conquered a continent for the Goddess' sake, she had fought in countless battles and come out the other end, she can make a potentially risky political maneuver to please her future wife. 

~~Perhaps she could use this...~~

No, that phase of her life was over.

"I couldn't keep you out of danger if I tried, could I?" She reached up and gave her Empress-to-be a soft kiss on her lips before nestling against a cloaked shoulder. 

As the two descended back to the dining hall, Byleth met eyes with a familiar guard, who she swore she saw exchange some gold with another, looking smugly at the two women. 

It was going to be a long evening, and she was looking forward to every second of it.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm definitely going to write more about these two- I'm currently planning out a Revolutionary Girl Utena AU for Three Houses, which will come out (looks at my work ethic)... eventually. Anyway, thanks for reading, if you want to find me on tumblr I'm @rellze 
> 
> If you liked the fic I'd a appreciate a kudos or comment just to inflate my ego a little haha


End file.
